Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Whitman brothers haven’t spoken to each other since their dad died a year ago. This isn’t surprising, given the sibling rivalry which survived well past their childhood. The tension emanates from a deep-seated dysfunction which has the eldest, control freak Francis (Owen Wilson), always dominating Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman).

So, of course, it would be Francis who’s orchestrated every detail of their joint sojourn across India in search of spiritual enlightenment, a trek simultaneously designed to function as a bonding opportunity. Each planned port of call has been printed out by Francis’ able assistant, Brendan (Wallace Wolodarsky), on laminated sheets which set out exactly what benefits to expect, thus taking a consumer-oriented, materialistic approach to the contemplated metaphysical experiences.

These brothers’ goal is to settle their differences while traveling across the subcontinent’s desert aboard the Darjeeling Limited, a train outfitted with little in the way of modern amenities. Besides spending quality time with each other, the Whitmans also want to track down their Born Again mother who has changed her name to Sister Patricia (Anjelica Huston) and lives in a convent in the foothills of the Himalayas. They need to know why she refused to attend their father’s funeral.

But getting there is all the fun in The Darjeeling Limited, a quirky character-driven dramedy coming courtesy of Wes Anderson. The film is the droll director’s best since Rushmore, and earned the #1 spot on this critic’s Top Ten List of 2007.

It helps immeasurably that Anderson depends on the services of the cinematic equivalent of a theater company, as he enjoys collaborating with a pool of regulars he’s worked with before. This is that rare cerebral comedy which offers sophisticates a refreshing alternative to the brainless bodily-function fare which has come to saturate the comedy genre.

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KamWilliams.com

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.